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Tuesday, 13 May 2014

I'm a big fan of fun sensory stimulation for toddlers. And what better excuse to whip up some play-dough than a miserable morning downpour? I've been regularly making play dough at home for a few months now and have safely pinpointed my no-fail go-to recipe. I have made it even more fun by adding a sensory aspect to it aka essential oils.

The end result - a lovely squishy soft dough that shimmers and sparkles as it is rolled and poked and moulded into different shapes. Not only that, it also smells beautiful and keeps for MONTHS!

Dump all of the first five ingredients in a pan and mix well with a wooden spoon. (If you are making scented dough, add the essential oil at this stage too.)

Set your hob to lowest heat/flame and put the pan on. Stir every few seconds until dough makes a clumpy lump or gets difficult to stir. Remove immediately from the heat.

Take out into a large bowl/plate. At this stage, you can either divide it into smaller sections or work with one large lump.

Set the timer for 5 minutes and start kneading. Add food colour and glitter while doing so. The end result should be a very soft, smooth, pliable dough that springs back when poked with a finger.

Store in an air-tight container.

Play away!

Alternatively, you can do step 4 using a food processor/mixer as well.

To get a long undisturbed quiet tea break maximum play time and sensory fun, gradually introduce tools and toys such as cookie cutters, rolling pins, silicone cupcake moulds, large buttons, toy cutlery etc.

Put the kettle on, sit back and watch an episode of your favourite sitcom while your toddler gets some quiet sensory creative fun.

Did you try this recipe? How did it go? Post below and happy crafting!

Saturday, 10 May 2014

It has been many months and a brand new baby later that I am returning to my blog. The past few months have been a whirlwind mommying a toddler, a bump, a C-section and countless diaper changes. Now with two kids out of my belly and finally settling into a routine, I've been able to return to MCW.

That is not to say that I was being a complete craft slob. There was the odd project I'm proud of. Details later.

But for now, here's what it is. DD two who has just turned 6 months is in a habit of dropping her binkies (dummies/soothers/pacifiers). So I trolled Amazon and can you believe, thislittle nifty gadget bit of string with a clip to keep the dummy from dropping costs a whopping £9.99!!!! (image below)

Well although I clicked and placed it into my checkout basket, try as I might, that thrifty niggle in my pointer wouldn't let me hit "Proceed to checkout". And I'm so glad because I came up with not one but a number of dummy clips in a matter of minutes. No sewing involved and with only my craft supplies at hand.

Wanna take a look? Here it is, dummy attached and all ...

And here it is again, being used in all its glory hahaha .... :D

The best part for me though is this - I can even use it during DD's bedtime without fear of choking. Because I have kept the length of ribbon quite short, if she loses the dummy while sleeping, the max it does is touch her ear. No fear of the ribbon tangling around baby's precious neck. You can even make it any colour to match the outfit/pram/mood! Total time - 3 minutes.

Supplies needed -

A length of ribbon

Two snap studs

A snap-stud kit

A bulldog clip

Of course the baby and binky are inevitable :)

Have you made something like this or did you try out this gadget? Post and let me know. Happy crafting!